PhD Engineering - Resilient Infrastructure Systems Emphasis

Emphasis Description

Infrastructure systems support the basic needs and functions of modern industrialized society including energy, water and sewage, transportation, communications, and public facilities. Resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities and systems to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions, recover from threats, and thrive in the future. The Resilient Infrastructure Systems program focuses on innovative solutions that help communities, businesses, and governments mitigate risks – and seize opportunities – associated with environmental change, extreme weather and climate-related events by rethinking, transforming, and adapting infrastructure systems to strengthen economic, environmental, and social resilience. The program offers students the opportunity to conduct integrative research focused on built and natural infrastructure systems related to transportation, environment and water, energy, and food, and their interconnections. Students may tailor a plan of coursework to their interests by drawing from UGA’s extensive course offerings spanning several engineering disciplines, earth and atmospheric sciences, environmental design, ecology, public health, law and policy, and the social sciences.

Admission to the Emphasis

Program of Study

Requirements for the Ph.D. in Engineering with Emphasis in Resilient Infrastructure Systems further expand on those of the Ph.D. in Engineering. These include a minimum of 72 credit hours in the student’s program of study beyond the B.S. degree. A thesis master's degree from an approved university may be accepted for up to 30 credits hours, in which case a minimum of 42 credit hours of approved course work, research and dissertation beyond the M.S. degree would be required as follows:

A minimum of 16 semester hours of coursework, which must include

At least 15 hours of 8000- and 9000-level courses in addition to research, dissertation writing, and directed study of which 9 hours must be selected from the Resilient Infrastructure Systems Course list (below).

1 hour of Graduate Seminar ENGR 8950*

A minimum of 23 Doctoral Research hours (Doctoral research (9000) or Doctoral project-focused research (9010)) for students with an M.S. **

The Program of Study must include 3 hours of ENGR 9300 Doctoral Dissertation.

* Only 3 hours of Graduate Seminar may apply on the Ph.D. Program of Study. Students are strongly encouraged to continue regular attendance of speaker series presentations even if not formally registered in the seminar.

** A typical student’s total research hours will exceed these minimums.

Emphasis Area Course List

As a requirement of the Ph.D. in Engineering with an Emphasis in Resilient Infrastructure Systems degree, students must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours selected from the list below. Students will work with their graduate advisor to select the most appropriate coursework to ensure breadth of understanding as well as mastery of knowledge in a specific subject area. In addition to completing 9 credit hours selected from the list below, students may work with their graduate advisor to develop an interdisciplinary plan of coursework drawing from the extensive graduate course offerings available at UGA.